City Council approves $3.9 million to settle four police misconduct lawsuits

The City Council today agreed to pay nearly $3.9 million to settle four lawsuits that alleged misconduct by Chicago police and civilian detention aides, but not before an influential alderman said the actions by cops in the cases left him with “a profound sense of shame and embarrassment.”

Police and civilian detention aides were accused in two separate lawsuits of ignoring obvious signs of medical distress that resulted in the deaths of people held in custody.

In a third case, police were accused of attempting to railroad a U.S. war veteran who was acquitted but nevertheless lost his new job after two months behind bars. In a fourth, police allegedly stepped on the head of a quadriplegic man after beating and kicking him.

“For over four decades, I’ve had the privilege to be associated with outstanding women and men who have brought great credit and distinction to the law enforcement profession,” said Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, an attorney and former cop who is Finance Committee chairman.

“The police officers we heard about at the Finance Committee in these four cases are not the women and men I have come to know in law enforcement since 1965,” Burke added. “It is with a profound sense of shame and embarrassment that I urge you to” approve the settlements.

The most costly case, which would be settled for more than $2 million, involved the death of Patricia Cobige in a lockup after her June 2006 arrest on heroin-possession charges. A cellmate testified that Cobige, 46, repeatedly complained of feeling ill and requested help but received none, First Assistant Corporation Counsel Leslie Darling said.

Her death from a pre-existing heart condition at the Grand Central District police lockup came eight hours after Cook County sheriff’s deputies would not process her for a court appearance because she was too ill to comply with simple commands, Darling said.

A jury in February 2010 awarded her son $5 million, but the city appealed the matter and was able to reduce the settlement, Darling said.

The council also approved a $1 million settlement for the sister of Rafe McMullan Jr., a 52-year-old man arrested on criminal trespassing charges who died in the central detention unit Nov. 12, 2008. A $3 million payout had been sought in the case, Darling said.

Witnesses from the lockup were prepared to testify that McMullan screamed and yelled for medical help but received none, Darling said. When he was found unresponsive on the cell floor, he had been dead for at least two hours, she said.

Aldermen also recommended settling for $560,000 a lawsuit filed by Iraq War veteran Frank Craig, who was “mistakenly pursued and arrested” for armed robbery and later acquitted, Darling said. The federal judge in Craig’s civil lawsuit concluded that a Chicago police detective “falsely testified before a grand jury,” Darling said.

“Mr. Craig was held in jail for over two months, causing him to lose a job at the state of Illinois that he was about to start the day after his arrest, which would have provided full benefits to his family,” Darling said. He was “unable to find similar paying work or benefits for his family,” she said.

Aldermen also recommended paying out $290,000 to Daniel and Karina Casares. Officers in October 2006 pulled Daniel Casares, a 26-year-old quadriplegic, from a vehicle and punched and kicked him, according to witnesses cited in the lawsuit.

The officers also stepped on his head and arrested and handcuffed his pregnant sister Karina when she tried to intervene, they alleged.

“We look at each case individually and defend each case individually,” Darling said. “We are not saying there is any pattern here.”